The city of North Chicago is attempting to revoke the pensions of three retired police officers who were disabled after being injured on the job.

The move comes after the city invoked a rarely – if ever – used provision in state law that allows it to recall retired officers in the event of an emergency which, in North Chicago’s case, was its inability to fully staff its now-closed 911 dispatch center.

In an effort to save money, the city decided in 2018 to close its dispatch center and consolidate operations with the one in Mundelein, a process that was finalized last month. The city said between generally low unemployment and the the planned closure, it struggled to adequately staff the dispatch center, at one point having only six employees available to cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week.